The Gathering
by bigo4190
Summary: Old artifacts, now unkown to all but the being who gathered them together have called for their masters. Journey with them until all have gathered and their tasks are revealed. Part one of the Chronicles of Power
1. Chapter 1

**The Chronicles of Power  
**_The Gathering_

_By: bigo4190_

Chapter 1 – A New Mission

* * *

The sun was high over Konahgakure no Sato, as the young man made his way to the Hokage tower. '_I wonder what Baasanwants me to do. I hope this isn't some crappy D-rank mission, not after all the training I went through with Ero-sennin._'

After only a few more minutes, Naruto arrived at the tower, and went into the Hokage's office for his mission briefing. As he entered the room he noticed the third occupant, Hyuuga Hinata. She hadn't seen him yet, and he entered more slowly, having noticed once again, after their brief meeting the day before, that she had definitely grown, and not just physically, for she stood straighter and more confidently, a least somewhat. That changed when he finally announced his presence, and she turned to face him, and blushed slightly. '_N-Naruto-kun is going on this mission with me?_'

"Good, your both here, now lets get down to business," and even as she said this and the door shut behind Naruto, Tsunade raised her hands in a simple Hitsuju Seal, and a brief pulse of chakra signified that the room had been sealed to prevent any noise from entering or leaving. "Now onto your mission, I'm assigning it to the two of you for multiple reasons, not the least of which is you are the two youngest ninja able to operate outside of the standard three man team system that are available at this time. This mission is fairly simple, but it does need more experienced ninja then a team of rookies. Their have been rumors in an area of Fire country near the border of the forest to the south of the village. They seem to believe that a cave their was once a lair for the Kyuubi, before his rampage to the village, and the direction does lend some credence to that theory. However, any villagers sent to investigate the matter never return. They have always held this superstition, but never have they sent any word to Konoha, having no reason to believe anything sinister was happening, merely traps that the villagers could not pass. Now however, they have felt strange energies coming from the cave at times, more than one mile distant. I wish the two of you to investigate. Your skills, and other…talents, should allow you to enter the cave, and discover just what the source of these strange pulses are. Hinata you are dismissed, but I have another thing to share with Naruto." Hinata bowed shortly, then turned to leave, she glanced once at Naruto, blushing slightly, but seemingly encouragingly. As soon as the door had shut, the Hokage turned to face Naruto and her expression grew grim. "Now Naruto, this may seem hard, but I'm going to be blunt, due to the nature of this mission, you must inform Hinata about _it_."

* * *

Naruto's eyes hardened, but their was a sense of understanding still deep within them. "That may be somewhat difficult to do…Hokage-sama."

Tsunade glanced at him in surprise, '_He never shows such respect, so something must be bothering him._' She straigtens and looks at him, "Nevertheless Naruto-kun, you will need to tell her, and the rest of your class eventually. Would things be any different if it were to say…Sakura?"

Naruto merely stood their, thinking for a few moments after Tsunade finished. "I understand that Tsunade-sama, but it will still be hard. So very few of those people who know the truth have treated me with anything more than indifference at best, and outright hatred at worst. I really do not wish to lose the people I can call friends when they learn the truth. And as for if it was Sakura…it would be easier, but not for the reasons I think you are guessing at. I do love her, but I've come to realize that she is more the big sister I never had than a romantic interest. But I know that she would understand, and try and help me deal with my problem, the same as when I realized how much she cared for…, well anyway, she was so concerned for _him_ that she would do anything, and I hope she would care enough for me to do the same."

Tsunade sat back in her chair, thinking hard about what Naruto said. "So I see you have done some thinking about this, that's good, and I think Sakura will be glad to hear you consider her a sibling now, because trust me, she feels the same way about you. Now is it difficult with Hinata merely because she is a friend, or is their more…don't look so surprised, I saw you watching her when you came in."

"You're way to smart for my own good, Baa-chan." Naruto let out a little sigh here, "Yeah, I have started feeling things for her, but now you're throwing this in the way of anything that could remotely happen," here Naruto's voice dropped to a wisper that Tsunade couldn't hear, "not that she would ever want anything to do with me that way."

"Well, I can see you're back to your normal self no Naruto-kun. All I have to say is that you should always have hope and those who know you will not so easily turn against you. You will need to tell her about _it_ though. You're dismissed." Tsunade raised her hands again and another pulse of chakra meant that the sound barrier was removed.

After Naruto and Hinata had gathered their things they meet at the southern gates, and then set out towards the cave. Naruto glanced around after a few hours and then let out a sigh. "Hinata-chan, we should stop for a minute."

"H-hai, Naruto-kun." Even as they stopped and landed upon the forest floor Hinata mentally berated herself for continue to stutter around Naruto, no matter how much she had improved, it still managed to slip out around him at times, '_Did he just call me Hinata-chan?_' "Why are we stopping now, we won't reach the cave until tomorrow, and the sun won't set for another few hours."

"This has to do with why Tsunade no Baa-chan held me back after the mission briefing. The information is another of the reasons why I in particular was chosen for this mission. It will also affect our teamwork for this mission and the rest of our lives."

"What is it, Naruto-kun?"

"Tell me Hinata-chan, what do you know about the Kyuubi attack 15 years ago?"

"I know that the beast rampaged on its way to Konoha, and was held at bay for three days until the Yondaime met it in battle and killed it."

"Yes, that is the story that everyone tells, but it is not the truth, as everyone from the earlier generations knows. Didn't you ever wonder why the Yondaime took three days to join the battle, and how he managed to kill the Lord of the Biju?"

"Yes, but I believed he may have shut himself away to study a method to defeat the demon, only joining the battle when he felt he could win. And what do you mean it's not true Naruto-kun? What did the Hokage tell you to pass on that she couldn't pass on herself?"

"She could have easily told you herself, but she respects me enough to allow me to tell my own secrets in mostly my own time. And don't forget that fact; this is an S-class secret, known only to the adults of Konoha. The Yondaime, no matter how strong he may have been as a Shinobi, was still mortal, and no mortal can hope to match power with any of the Biju through normal means. The Yondaime did spend those three days in study, but that study led him to the only thing possible, the sealing of the demon."

Naruto sighed here and then shook his head, but before Hinata could interrupt he began again, "However, no rock, tree, or even mountain could contain the vast power of the Kyuubi. An adult's body, set in its own ways, could not cope with the sudden influx of power any more easily, so the Yondaime took the only option, a newborn child who's chakra coils had not yet fully formed. Hinata…I am that child, the Jinchuuriki that contain the Kyuubi no Youko." Naruto finished his speech and lowered his head, knowing that his hope that he would not be rejected was only a fool's hope.

Hinata stood there, stunned. Here was the boy, no man, that she had admired, and grown to love, and all this time, underneath the smiles and the energy she knew to be at least somewhat of a mask, was a boy constantly rejected for something he had no control over. Now to see him so broken, mentally preparing himself for yet another rejection, she knew she had to reassure him, even if that meant that revealing her long hidden feelings. "Naruto-_**kun**_, not all the people of Konoha are blind to the difference between a demon and its prison. I know that you are a kind hearted man who never breaks a promise and fights with everything he has to defend that which is precious to him, and that doesn't sound like a demon. There are so many who care for you, even knowing the burden, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-san and Jiraiya-sama and Hokage-sama. And then me, Naruto-kun, nothing could make me hate you, because…because I l-love you."

Now it was Naruto's turn to be stunned. He wasn't being rejected, and what's more the girl, no…she was definitely a woman now, that he had begun to care for had not only remained his friend, but declared her love for him. He remained speechless for a few more minutes, until he noticed that Hinata now seemed to be on the edge of her own breakdown. '_Kuso. She probably thinks I'm rejecting her._' "Hinata-chan, thank you, this means so much to me. You're the first person our age that I have told, and I cannot begin to thank you enough. And Hinata-_**chan**_, I may be f-falling in l-love with you too."

"N-naruto-kun." Hinata could hardly believe her ears, when had Naruto gotten over Sakura. She was ecstatic, her feelings were returned, and without thinking she swept Naruto up in a hug, kissing him passionately. They stayed that way for several minutes, Ninja training allowing for them to hold their breath longer; when the lack of air finally became an issue, they pulled apart, gasping but both quite happy. "We should probably keep going until dark."

"With what, the traveling or the kissing Hinata-chan?" Naruto looked serious for a second, almost as if he meant the question before chuckling slightly and turning once more to the south, "I know as fun as the second alternative would be, we have a mission to complete, let's get moving."

* * *

The new couple, after camping for the night, continued on their way and arrived at the cave around noon. They stopped in the tree nearest the cave, sensing the lurking power that the villagers must have been reporting. It had pulsed once when they were passing the small village, but close to the cave, it could be felt continuously by those familiar with sensing chakra. What baffled them was who familiar it felt; they could almost distinguish a mixture of energies, some of which they recognized. They were shaken out of their thoughts soon, quite literally, as a small tremor spread from the cave, and a sound much like the turning of a giant stone wheel was heard from inside. They also felt the building of a new and different kind of power.

"What the—" Naruto seems perplexed, but is instantly on guard, anything with that much power and able to shake the ground that hard was a possible threat. "Hinata-chan, we should investigate, just stay behind me, I'm going to flare a little of the Kyuubi's chakra in an attempt to ward off some of the defenses this place might have. We need to find out what is causing this."

The two cautiously entered the cave, Naruto glowing with a red aura, the chakra of the Kyuubi keeping the hidden defenses of the cave at bay. AS they entered the cave the surge of energy reached its peak and they saw a large stone ring against the back wall flare with energy as a pool of what appeared to be water materialized within it. The portal rippled slightly and a man fell through.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Chronicles of Power**

_The Gathering_

_By: bigo4190_

Disclaimer: I own nothing. _Naruto_ belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, _Harry Potter_ belongs to J.K. Rowling, _Stargate _belongs to MGM Studios, and finally, Power Rangers belongs to BVS Entertainment

Chapter 2 – The Veil of "Death"

* * *

…And he fell. Without being aware of what was happening around him, the man landed somewhere far from his home, in the lair of the most powerful demon ever to exist in the universe.

"Hinata-chan, it looks like he is unconscious. We should wait against the wall, it wouldn't be good to explore the cave and have our backs to him if he turns out to be hostile.

"Hai Naruto-kun." The two ninja leapt back and settled down against one of the cave wall, just far enough away from the figure that should he wake, they would have enough time to react if he attacked them.

The man wakes slowly, groaning, and unsure why he was in pain, '_I was in front of the veil, I should be dead, and I thought spirits felt nothing._' As he sits up, he looks around and finds himself in a cave, surrounded by treasures of all kinds, and there leaning against the nearest wall were two children watching him, almost as if on guard, prepared for some sort of hostile movement. '_They're Harry's age._' Even as this thought goes through his head he attempts to ask them a question, however they look at him confusedly and respond in a completely different language. '_Well that's no good. At least I know a translation spell, the question is: will they attack me before I can get the spell out and tell them I'm friendly? Well, no time like the present._' He quickly flicked the wand that was still in his hand, "Quinnognosco." A quick flash comes from the end of the man's wand startles the two young guards.

"What was that?!? What did you do!?!" Naruto jumps to his feet and begins to rant at the man.

"I made it so we can understand each other." The man's words stop Naruto short, as he had heard the man speaking such weird words earlier, and now he understood him perfectly, just as the man said they would be able to. "Now, I have some questions for the two of you; my most important one: where the hell are we?!?"

"Well, um…you see…"

Hinata seems uncharacteristically impatient with Naruto's confused response. "What my friend here is trying to say is that you are in the lair of the Nine-tailed Demon Fox in the Land of Fire, about one and a half days travel from the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

"Um, excuse me, but, what the hell does that mean?"

Naruto has stopped being so flustered, but now looks at the man with an even more confused expression, "What do you mean, I thought everyone had at least heard of the elemental countries and the five great Shinobi villages."

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble kid, but I haven't. Tell me have you ever heard of Britain, Wizards, or, what are they called again, oh yes, iPods?"

"Uh, no. What about you Hinata-chan? I'm not that good with remembering this kind of stuff, even with those three years traveling with Ero-Sennin."

"No, Naruto-kun, I have never heard of them either."

"Well then, since neither of us seem to know about the things the other believes would be common knowledge, something really strange must be going on, and since you know where we are, I'll just have to trust you. Besides, you remind me of a few of my old friends when we were your age. In fact, Naruto was it, you wouldn't happen to be a prankster would you?"

"Well, I haven't pulled any pranks in about three years, but yeah, I used to be a prankster. How could you tell?"

"You never stop being a prankster Naruto, you just go on an extended vacation. And for how I could tell, well you see, I have had quite the illustrious pranking career myself. Now, we seem to have gotten sidetracked, I don't think we have even introduced ourselves yet, my name is Sirius Black."

"That's a strange name, but you do speak a different language, so it's not surprising. I am Hyuga Hinata."

"And you already know part of my name, but I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

"Well, now I do see a problem, not only are our languages vastly different, but apparently, we construct our names differently as well. You two say your personal names second, and family names first, while my culture says our personal name first and family name second, so call me Sirius. Now, what is this you said about a _**DEMON FOX**_ living here, how is it we can just be sitting around calmly, it could come back at any moment!?!

"No, it can't. You see the demon was sealed away 15 years ago, into me." Here Naruto flairs a bit more of the demon's Chakra, just enough to begin glowing again.

"OooooKay, that's not weird or anything. How did you make yourself glow like that, I figure from when you did that, that must be the fox's power, but how do you control it."

"Practice. It's a little different from the power of normal people, the chakra we ninjas that I know you have never heard of, use, but I've been practicing to control it just as much as I practice controlling my normal power. Now, what weird stuff can you do? I felt something when you waved that stick earlier, it was familiar but it wasn't chakra."

"Y-yes, I would like to know as well."

"We call the power we use magic, and ourselves wizards, oh and the girls are called witches, but since I'm not, well…. Anyway, this 'stick' as you called it is what we call a wand, and it allows us to use our magic easily. If I didn't have it, I could at the most make a little light, or summon or repel small objects."

"Seems a little inconvenient to me, I mean, what if somebody breaks it."

"Right you are Naruto, it is a problem, especially in combat. Though, as I have learned, that isn't the only thing that can cause a problem in a fight. I got cocky, and look where I ended up. O course, this is sort of better than what I was expecting; everything we thought we knew about what sent me here was that it killed you—then again the last time someone was sent through was over 15 years ago, so they probably died straight away anyhow."

"Excuse me Black-san, but I think we should be preparing to leave sometime soon."

"Ah, but Hinata-chan, we still haven't found the source of…wait, there's that damn energy pulse again. Why does it feel so familiar?"

"You two felt that as well. Then I'm not completely crazy. And I think it came from that stack of boxes over there." The three cautiously moved towards the indicated boxes, though perhaps small ornate chests would be a better description. Each of the three chest was inscribed with a different crest, and when the pulse came again, a small glimmer was visible at the center of each crest. At the same time, Sirius reached for the left-most crate, while Naruto reached for the right. Nothing happened when the touched the chests, but when they opened the lids, the contents of each sparked with a rainbow of colors.

"They almost seem to be calling out for their owners, don't they." Sirius was looking deeply at the small black crystal that lay at the top of the formation of crystals inside his chest.

"Yes." Agreed Naruto and Hinata simultaneously. Each of them was staring at a different orb in the chest that Naruto had lifted. Naruto focused on the slightly Green sphere that seemed to hold the Kanji for Wind, while Hinata was transfixed by the blue gem showing the Kanji for Water.

In silent agreement, the chests were put down, and they reached out for their own powers. Once in hand, they found themselves compelled to speak certain phrases.

"Arise from the Fog of Myth: Black Grim." In a flash, as much a flash as blackness can create, the form of Sirius was clothed in a black combat suit, overlaid with a dark cloak.

As one, Naruto and Hinata spoke: "We Call upon the Elements to Aid us."

"Spirit of the Horse: Wind Ranger."

"Spirit of the Swan: Water Ranger." The two were hidden from view in flashes of green and blue respectively, and the appearance that they showed was far more intimidating than the change of Sirius, for they now found themselves in something approaching ANBU Armor of their respective color.

"This is a nice change. And since we have these, perhaps it is best if we returned to your village. Your leader will want to know of this I'm sure, and perhaps with help we may find a way for me to return.

* * *

"Quinnognosco" is a translation spell I created myself. It is a contracted form of the phrase "Quin nos gnosco" which means "Let us understand" in Latin.


End file.
